kingdom · Balkans and Hungary

Taulantii

450 BCE – 230 BCE (approx.) · capital Epidamnos

Illyrian kingdom around Epidamnus on the Albanian coast, whose king Glaukias fought Alexander the Great and raised the young Pyrrhus.

Origins

The Taulantii held the coastal plain around Epidamnus (Durrës) from at least the 5th century BCE; Thucydides records them in the quarrel over Epidamnus that helped spark the Peloponnesian War. By the 4th century BCE they were ruled by kings.

Rule and society

Their kings controlled the hinterland of the Greek colonies of Epidamnus and Apollonia, trading with them and at times dominating them. In 335 BCE Glaukias joined Cleitus of Illyria against Alexander at Pelion. Glaukias later sheltered the infant Pyrrhus of Epirus and in 312 BCE seized Epidamnus.

Decline and legacy

After Glaukias the Taulantian kingdom faded from view. By the later 3rd century BCE their lands lay within the Illyrian Kingdom of Agron and Teuta, and after 229 BCE much of the coast came under Roman protection.

Lineage

TaulantiiIllyrian Kingdom 400 BCE – 168 BCE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Taulantii. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taulantii
MLA
“Taulantii.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taulantii. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Taulantii.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taulantii.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Taulantii’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/taulantii (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻